Ukdiche Modak

Ukdiche modak are loved by all and really don't need any introduction as such.
Till day I have rarely come across a person whose face hasn't lit up at the idea of eating hot ukdiche modak with pure ghee dripping over it.
Its a heavenly feeling ..........personally to be experienced.............

Ingredients :

For the filling :

2 cups...................fresh coconut grated
1 1/2 cup...................jaggery
3 to 4 tbsp.................milk powder
1 tbsp......................charoli (chironji)
1 tbsp................kismis (raisins)
1/2 tbsp.................freshly crushed cardomom powder
1 tbsp.....................ghee

For the covering :

2 cups....................rice flour for modak (bought ready made )
2 cups ..................water
1/2 tsp..................salt
1 tbsp.....................ghee
1 tbsp...................sugar

Method :


For the filling :


Mix the grated coconut with jagerry pieces and ghee and heat till the jagerry melts.

Add charoli, kismis, cardamom powder and stir till little sticky.

In the end add milk powder and mix well.

Remove from the fire and let it cool.

Instead of milk  powder you can also add 3 - 4 crushed pedhas or barfees if you have .

Then according reduce the quantity of jaggery.




For the cover :


Heat 2 cups water with salt , sugar and ghee.

When it is about to boil add the rice flour and mix well .

Cover the lid and keep just for 2 minutes.

Switch off the gas and mix well.

When still warm knead it well into a soft smooth dough.

Keep the dough covered with a wet muslin cloth.


Method to make modaks : 

Take a lemon sized ball and flatten it into a thin round puri shape with fingers. 

If you find using fingers difficult then you can also roll it into a round puri. 

Now take this puri on your palm and make pinches with your fingers all over the edges as shown in the video.

Put 1 tbsp filling in the centre. 

Now carefully bring all the edges close together and form a modak shape as shown in the video. 

Spread a wet muslin cloth on a plate and keep the modaks on the plate. 

Keep this plate in a steamer or a pressure cooker without the pressure. 

Steam for half an hour. 

While serving serve hot with ghee. 

Linking this to festive food ganesh chaturthi @ priti's  indiankhanna

and also to Sharan's  vinayagar-chaturthi-festival-event

and  Indrani's event @   festivals-of-india

Ambyache ukdiche modak (Steamed mango modaks)

This is a delicious variation of our favourite ukdiche modak. These yellow coloured modaks  look very cute and presentable and make a refreshing change from our regular variety. The taste of mangoes in the covering is also very delicious .

But first lets keep the naivedhyam of mokadas to Ganapathi Bappa to take his blessings .....


Linking this to festive food ganesh chaturthi @ priti's indiankhanna 

and Sharan's vinayagar-chaturthi-festival-event 

and Indrani's  event @  festivals-of-india

Ingredients :

For the filling :

2 cups.................grated fresh coconut
1 1/2 cup ..............sugar
1 tbsp.....................Cashew pieces
1/2 tsp...................Jaiphal powder (mace)
1 tbsp.....................ghee

Mix the coconut , sugar and ghee and heat the mixture only till the sugar melts.
Add cashew and jaiphal powder and remove from the gas.


For the covering :

1 cup..................alphanso mango pulp
2 cups.................rice flour (specially meant for modak you get it ready made)
1 tbsp...................ghee
1/2 tsp...............salt
2 tbsp.................sugar
3 to 4 drops .........orange colour.
1 cup ....................water

Heat water with salt, sugar and ghee.
Grind the mango pulp in grinder to make it smooth.
Add the ground pulp to water and mix well.
When it starts boiling add the colour.
Add the rice flour and mix well.
Cover with lid for 2 minutes and put off the gas.
When still warm knead it into a smooth soft dough.



To make modaks :

Take a lemon sized ball of the dough and stuff it into the greased modak mould.
Keep the middle portion hollow.

Add the filling and close the base with the dough again.

Heat the pressure cooker, idli maker or modak steamer with water .
Arrange the modaks on the greased plate and steam the modaks for 20 to 25 minutes.
Gently remove them out .
By the time the first lot is getting steamed , keep the second lot ready.

                               
                                    (Hand moulded modaks )

You can also roll the dough into puri shape and add the filling.

Some ladies shape the dough base on their palms and make the folds of modak with their finger very expertly.

I too  tried it on the modaks above but not yet very successfull in that.

Chocolate Modaks

The month of bhadrapada takes the festive mood  started in shravana to further heights. With bhadrapada Lord Ganesha comes to our house and whole atmosphere is that of celebration. Various sweets and special dishes  are prepared to welcome the Lord. Today I am posting the recipe of chocolate modak which is the most favourite food of Ganesha.

Linking this to festive food ganesh chaturthi @ priti's  indiankhanna

and Sharan's vinayagar-chaturthi-festival-event

and Indrani's  event @ festivals-of-india

Ingredient :

500gm ......................compound chocolate ( Morde bitter brand)
1/2 tsp.........................stabilizer
1/4 tsp.......................butterscotch essence
modak mould for setting the chocolate






Method :

Boil water in a vessel.Keep a wider vessel on top of it and put the broken pieces of compound chocolate.Add stabilizer ( It helps in smooth melting and setting of chocolate)Cover with the thin cloth so that the melting chocolate doesn't come in contact with steam.Keep it this way for 10 to 12 minutes and then stir properly so that no lumps are left.

Add the butterscotch essence and pour in the chocolate moulds.

Keep in fridge for 20 to 25 minutes and unmould them.
Your delicious chocolate modaks are ready for Ganpathi Bappa.

In these modaks  I had added some rice crisps .

Soya Aloo Matar

Sometimes when I am not making a non vegetarian dish I love to add soya chunks or granules in my meals. They make the dish tasty and are also very healthy. Plus they give you a feel of eating a special meal . This Soya alu matar is very simple to make but a delicious dish . I made it with rotis yesterday for our dinner.

Linking this to  Pari's event Cook with soyabean  guest hosted by preeti



Ingredients :

1 cup................soya chunks
1........................potato cubed
1 ....................onion finely chopped
2 .................tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 cup..............fresh green peas shelled
1tbsp...................ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 tsp...............chilly powder
1 tsp....................turmeric powder
1 tsp......................garam masala
1 tbsp .............crushed panch phoran
                    (methi, mustard,saunf,cumin and kalonji )
Salt
Oil

Method :

Boil water in a vessel with salt and add the soya chunks and cook for 5 minutes and keep them aside .
Heat oil add panch phoran , onion and fry till transparent.
Add ginger garlic paste and potatoes and cook till half done.
Add tomatoes and further cook for 10 mintues.
Add chilly powder, turmeric, garam masala , salt and water to make enough gravy.
Squeeze the soya chunks and add to the gravy and further cook for 10 minutes.

Kala Vatana Usal

A dry usal made of kala vatana is nutritious and fulfils your day's protien quota. A very delicious and healthy dish. Can also sprinkle finely chopped onions, chutney or ketchup  and sev on top and have as a dry mid-day snack.

Linking this to legumes and lentils event hosted by  radhika at tickling palates.




Ingredients :

1 cup.............black vatana
1.................onion finely chopped
2 ...............tomatoes finely chopped
3 to 4 .............green chillies
1 1/2 tsp.............Kala masala (Goda masala)
5 to 6 ..............garlic flakes crushed
1tsp ..................turmeric powder
salt
jaggery
oil

Method :

Soak the vatana overnight and cook in a pressure cooker till soft.
Heat oil , add green chillies, crushed garlic and onions and saute till transparent.
Add potatoes and cook till half done.
Add tomatoes , kala masala, turmeric powder, salt and jagerry and saute till oil separates.
In the end add boiled vatana stir properly and cook for 5 minutes.

Kobi Bhaji

Cabbage a very humble vegetable which doesn't have any special taste of itself. So it can be used in many things like cutlets, dosas even thalipits and parathas. It is loaded with Vitamin C and hence I try to include it in my food as often as possible.

This is a very simple vegetable made with cabbage and green peas. Tastes good with rotis or dal rice.I made it today for the tiffin and it is dry and easy to carry.



Ingredients :

1/ kg ......................cabbage chopped
1 cup.....................potatoes cubed
1/2 cup.................fresh green peas
2 to 3 ................green chillies
1........................onion chopped
1 tsp................mustard seeds
10 to 12 .............curry leaves
1 tsp.................kala (goda )masala
1/2 tsp.................turmeric powder
salt
sugar
oil

Method :

Heat oil add mustard seeds, chillies, curry leaves (or curry leaves powder) and onions.
When the onions are pink add cubed potatoes and half cook.
Add cabbage and fresh peas, salt, sugar, kala masala, turmeric and cook till done.

Besan Dhirde

Today morning I prepared this besan dhirde . This dhirde looks like a thick thalipit, soft and fluffy.
They are easy to make and super healthy to have and very very delicious . We all enjoyed them  a lot in our breakfast with tomato ketchup. You can also have it with any chutney of your choice. But it tastes best with green coriander chutney.

Linking this to

 Radhika's legumes and lentils @ ticklingpalates and also to

 Priya's event fast-food-not-fat-food  hosted at Archana's madscientistskitchen and to

Nithu's event healthy-food-for-healthy-kids guest hosted by Soumya @ nivedhanams

Ingredients :

3 cups.................besan (channa daal flour)
2........................onion finely chopped
2 ...................tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 cup...............coriander finely chopped
3 to 4...................green chillies finely chopped
2 tsp...................turmeric powder
salt
sugar
oil

Method :

Mix everything  except oil with enough water.
The mixture should be thick like a idly batter.
Heat a non -stick pan, put little oil and spread the mixture and shallow fry.
Turn on the other side also and cook till done.
Serve hot with ketchup or a chutney.
They are quickly made  and delicious too to have for breakfast.

M'c Egg burger (M'c Donald style)

Last week my son's friend gave his birthday treat in M'c Donalds . They all had various burgers of their choice and he told me about a new addition called M'c egg burger. On further discussion I came to know that it simply had an half fried egg with some sauce and onions . I decided to make them for our dinner along with some french onion  soup.

And here is how I made them, very very simple, filling and nutritious burgers.

You can make it a whole meal by having with it  some soup or salad of your choice.

Ingredients :

4....................Burger buns
4 ................ eggs
1/2 cup.................onion finely chopped
4 tbsp....................green-coriander-chutney (optional)
4 tbsp.....................mayonnaise-sauce-with-eggs(can use eggless also)
4 ........................cheese slices (optional)
salt
Pepper
ghee

Method :

In a small non stick pan make half fried eggs.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on them .
I turned them and cooked them a bit on the other side too  for just 1 minute.
This ensures that the yolk doesn't ooze out while eating.
Cut the burger buns and apply green chutney.
Arrange the half fried egg on it.
Sprinle some onion and top it with a cheese slice if you want.
On the other half of burger apply mayonnaise and cover the burger.
Your healthy and delicious burger is ready to eat.

Ambade Udid Methi ( Curry)

Ambada is a sour fruit. I don't know what it is called in English but it is very tasty. In our native place almost every house had the ambada tree. The fruit is used to make curries, sasams and chutney. It is a very delicious  sour fruit.


Ingredients :

2 to 3 ...................Ambade
1 cup ....................fresh grated coconut
1 tbsp....................udid
1 tsp.....................methi
1 tbsp..................raw rice
 3 to 4 ................red dry chillies
1 tsp ..................turmeric powder
10 to 12 ............curry leaves
1 tsp..................mustard seeds
2 tbsp or more................jaggery
salt
coconut oil




Method :

In little coconut oil stir fry udid daal, methi and rice till pink .
Grind this along with coconut, turmeric and chillies.
Wash and crush ambade a bit.
Heat coconut oil add mustard seeds, curry leaves and ambade.
Cook ambade a bit add jagerry and add the ground masala. Add salt.
Cook for 5 to 10 minutes.





Linking this to Chef Mirielle's  taste-of-tropics  @ Soumya's nivedhanams

Bharle paplet ( Stuffed Pomfrets)

Pomfret or paplet as this fish is locally known is a very clean and tasty fish. And hence this fish can be used in various ways. The dish  I made today is prepared by stuffing green chutney and is  very yummy . It does take some time but the end result will leave you fully satistisfied. You can have it with hot rice and any curry of your choice.



Ingredients :


3 to 4 ...........palm sized pomfrets

2........................onions finely chopped
1 bunch............coriander leaves
1 cup.......freshly grated coconut
4 to 5 ...............green chillies
7 to 8............garlic flakes
1 ........lemon or equal tamarind
3 to 4................cloves
1 tsp.................pepper corns
1/2 inch ..........dalchini
1  1/2 tsp.......chilly powder
1 1/2 tsp......turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp......karwari sambar masala
1/2 cup............semolina (rawa)
salt
coconut oil to fry

 Method :

Clean the pomfrets and remove the middle thorn taking care to keep the pomfret intact.
You can get this done also by your local fisher woman.
Apply salt, chilly pd , turmeric pd and sambar masala and keep the pomfrets aside.

Grind together coconut, coriander, green chillies, garlic, cloves, pepper , dalchini and tamarind.
Heat little oil and fry chopped onions, when they turn pink add above masala and fry till it is semi dry.

                Let this mixture cool and then stuff this in the pomfrets.

Heat the tawa and add coconut oil on it.
Coat the pomfrets with rawa on all sides and shallow fry on all sides till crisp.


Linking this to seafood-feast-event

Orange Cake with Chocolate Icing

It was celebration time as there was a teenager's party at my place. I wanted to bake a cake which would be suitable for their palate. Children of this age group aren't fascinated by fancy shapes or decorations. What they want is something experimental and new  but down to earth.

 So finally I zeroed in on this cake. I usually like citrus flavours in cakes, cookies or desserts as it gives a nice twist to the sweet dish . So I decided to combine orange and chocolate flavours.

So here's my recipe for the orange cake. This cake was super yummy and a great hit with the children and adults.

Sending this entry to 

1)Srivalli's kids-delight at vaishali's ribbonstopastas

2) Vardhini's  bake-fest  guest hosted by Archana @  madscientistskitchen


3)  Akila's event  dish-name-starts-with-o



Ingredients :

 2 cups...............All purpose flour
2 .....................eggs
1 cup...........Orange juice
           (I used Tropicana Orange 
juice pack as fresh oranges are                              not available)
1 cup.....home made white butter
1 cup ............sugar
2 tbsp.......cocoa powder
1 tsp.............baking powder
1/2 tsp............baking soda
2tbsp.....chopped candied orange peels
1 cup.........................fresh cream ( I used Rich brand)
200 gm .....................bitter chocolate slab( Morde brand)








Method :

In the grinder mix All purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda for 2 minutes and keep aside.

Againg in the grinder add the butter and sugar and mix well for 2 minutes, add broken eggs and mix for further 2 to 3 minutes .
Add orange juice and cocoa powder and again mix for 2 more minutes .

Butter the cake tin with and smear little flour on it and pour the cake mix .

In the mean while preheat the oven for 15 minutes at 150 degrees.
Now take out the mixture from the grinder in a vessel and go on adding all purpose flour little at a time and go on gently folding it .
Add the chopped peels and if thick can add little milk.
Keep the tin in oven and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes and then at 150 degrees for 10 more minutes.

When cool invert the cake and cut it into two slices .
Sprinkle some orange juice on both the slices to keep them moist.
Whip fresh cream for 10 to 15 minutes or till stiff and spread 3/4 th of it on lower half slice.

Melt the chocolate slab on a double boiler and add remaing 1/4 the cream to it.
Spread this on the top of the cake.
Your orange cake is ready.

Baingan ka Bharta

Ingredients:

1...................Big brinjal
2...................onions chopped finely
2.................tomatoes chopped finely
2tsbp.................finely cut mix of ginger,
                          garlic and green chillies
1tsp................mustard seeds
1/2 tsp...........cumin seeds
1 tsp..................garam masala
1 tsp.................amchur(dry mango powder)
salt
oil
coriander or mint for garnish




Method :

Smear the brinjal with any oil and roast it directly on
gas flames or by keeping on tawa.
Smearing the oil will make it easy to remove the skin after roasting.
When it becomes soft put off the gas and let the brinjal cool down.
Peel off the skin and mash the pulp and keep aside.
In kadhai heat 2 tbsp oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds .
After they splutter add chopped ginger, garlic, green chilly mix.
Add onions and stir fry till soft.
Add tomatoes and stir fry for five minutes.
Then add the brinjal mash, salt, amchur and garam masala and cook for 5 minutes.
Garnish with coriander or mint leaves.
Your baingan ka bharta is ready.
Serve it with rotis or parathas.